


Alone On Christmas

by ultrafangirlishness



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Arguing, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas fic, Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Minor Angst, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Negative Thoughts, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Play Fighting, Playful Threatening, Pre-Acceptance, Sanders Sides fluff, Self-Indulgent, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, christmas day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25369798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultrafangirlishness/pseuds/ultrafangirlishness
Summary: Deceit hates Christmas, especially now that it’s without Virgil—his first Christmas alone. Or so he thought.
Relationships: Anxiety & Creativity & Deceit & Logic & Morality (Sanders Sides), Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Alone On Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first fic EVER, originally posted to my Tumblr (under the same username). I had a lot of fun with this and am excited to present this totally self-indulgent fic. Feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated! Also note: this story is pre-Remus.
> 
> P.S. I know it's weird to post this in July, but I just created an AO3 account yesterday and figured I should get what I've already written up and out there. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Deceit pulled his cape tighter as the first couple snowflakes began to fall. All around him the town was aglow in stringed lights, the last few porch lights slowly being turned out one by one. It was 8:25 PM; just a couple hours until Christmas. Right about now, households would be tucking in for the night. Parents would be finishing the last of the wrapping, making food preparations, or kissing their children goodnight. Trees shone brightly through windows. As the snow fell harder, the atmosphere grew eerily silent, the only sound being the crunching of snow under Deceit’s feet.

Deceit hated the winter. More specifically, he hated _Christmas_.

Not just because of the cold, or the annoying music that always got stuck in his head. It wasn’t because of the brightly colored decorations and lights that hurt his eyes, or even just because of the obnoxiously cheery “Christmas spirit” everyone claimed to be in the air. Those were awful too. What he hated above all else, something he would never admit aloud, was that for Deceit, Christmas time was _lonely_.

Ever since Virgil left him for the other sides, Deceit had been an absolute outcast. A complete loner. He and Virgil would always make fun of the cheesy decorations, the ridiculous songs, and watch Halloween movies just to spite everyone. At least in previous years he could be lonely _with_ someone— with Virgil. Now here he was, left to suffer alone in his least favorite time of year.

Deceit continued walking through the streets, hoping not to run into anyone. Maybe he could find a nearby café and wait out this storm…

He didn’t have to walk too far before Deceit became lost in thought. This would be his first Christmas without Virgil, without _anyone_ in… how long? He couldn’t recall. Deceit supposed this was probably how Christmas would be from now on. Wandering the streets without purpose, nowhere to go, hoping he could find something to pass the time. _Get over yourself,_ he said in his mind. _If this is the way it’s going to be, you might as well get used to it._

Deceit was nearly to the late-night café he’d spotted earlier when he was pulled from his thoughts. From the house directly to his right came the creaking of an opening door. Golden light flooded the streets. Standing there in the doorway was a silhouetted figure.

“Deceit?” it called out.

After a few moments, his eyes adjusted to the new source of light and Deceit was able to make out the figure’s features. A man, most likely in his late twenties to early thirties, wearing a thick pair of black glasses and a sweater that read “Meowy Christmas” over a knitted cat pattern.

“Patton.”

Deceit had completely forgotten he lived in this area of town.

“What are you doing out here?” Patton gestured to the snow. “It’s freezing! I thought you hated the cold?”

“I do,” he said in a matter-of-fact sort of way, hoping Patton wouldn’t noticing him shivering underneath all the layers.

Something changed in Patton’s expression. Sympathy? Pity?

“How are the others?” Deceit asked automatically, attempting to change the subject. He couldn’t help but cringe at the word “others”. He had a feeling they both knew who he was referring to.

“Oh! He's— they’re, they’re great. You know how it is,” he laughed nervously, “always arguing. But you gotta love ‘em.”

Deceit only nodded, fresh out of conversation filler.

The two men stood there, now wordless, no more than a few paces apart. With the door wide open, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted outside. Deceit could hear the faintest tune of _Jingle Bell Rock_ coming from inside the house, followed by boisterous laughter. A familiar sinking feeling began creeping into his gut. When the silence between the two finally grew unbearable, Deceit cleared his throat.

“Well, if there’s nothing else you require of me, I hope you’ll excuse me,” he said with a polite nod, stepping away.

“Wait!”

Deceit paused and looked back at Patton, who wore a frantic expression. Patton flushed and, when it was clear he had the snake’s attention, looked down at his feet.

“No one should be alone on Christmas,” he muttered softly, just loud enough to hear.

This took Deceit by surprise. Out of anyone, Patton was worried about _his_ well-being?

“Are you… inviting me in?” he asked.

“Yes?” Patton responded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, I know you and the others haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.” Deceit scoffed at that. “But… It’s Christmas eve. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?”

“Patton, I appreciate the gesture, but why do you care? I mean, why are you doing this?” Was it possible Patton or the others actually missed him, or was this all coming from guilt? There was obviously some sort of hidden motive behind it. Some sort of trick. If he really cared, he would’ve invited him in a long time ago.

Patton’s expression just softened. “I want you to have just as good a Christmas as any. That’s not going to happen with you walking around out here all alone.”

Deceit looked away. He had a point.

“Besides, it’s only for a little bit.”

Deceit’s mind began to race, trying to think of all the ways it could possibly be a trick. Surely he wasn’t actually letting him into their lives, surely he didn’t actually care… and what about Virgil? What would he think? He would probably only try to make things miserable for Deceit. On the other hand, this was a chance to… what? Get back at him? It’d at least make him uncomfortable, no doubt. If Deceit ended up going through with all of this just to spite Virgil, well, he supposed he could live with that.

“So… what do you say?” Patton said, trying to conceal a hopeful smile. “You can come back later tonight when we’re ready, say, around nine? It’ll give me a chance to talk to the others.”

Deceit glanced at the time; that would give him less than half an hour.

“C’mon, join us,” he encouraged. “Just this once? It’ll be like old times! In the spirit of Christmas?”

Deceit knew that in fact it _wouldn’t_ be like old times, but he decided not to say that. He mustered the last bit of courage he had left to look back up into Patton’s kind eyes. “Alright.”

* * *

“Guys, come on! It’s Christmas!”

Patton, Logan, Roman and Virgil were sat comfortably around the table, enjoying a Christmas Eve dinner together.

“Pat, you can’t be serious,” Virgil said from across the table, arms crossed. “You know I try to humor your ideas, but this? Absolutely not.”

Before Patton could give him one of his “injured puppy” looks, as the group liked to refer to it as, Virgil cut in again. “Come on, Roman, this is crazy, right?” He gestured desperately at the prince, who tensed.

“I, uh…” He cleared his throat. “I’m actually with Patton here. I think it’s a good idea.” Roman felt a little uneasy, but the look Patton gave him made up for it.

“Not you, too!” Virgil threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

Roman, trying his best to ignore the daggers being stared from Virgil, looked to the fourth person in the room.

“What about you, Logan? You haven’t said anything on the matter. What do you think?”

Logan, who’d been observing silently, sat up in his chair, all focus now on him. He took a moment to sip his cup of hot chocolate before speaking.

“What are the pros and cons?” he asked simply.

Virgil quickly opened his mouth to object, but Logan held up his hand for silence. Virgil reluctantly obliged and sat back in his chair with a huff.

“Calmly. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having Deceit over for Christmas?”

Virgil raised his hand in mock gesture. Logan rolled his eyes and nodded in his direction.

“I don’t know, maybe because he’s a freaking _snake_ , the literal embodiment of lies, and can’t be trusted?”

The rest of the group fell silent at that.

“The pros are we’ll have one more person to celebrate with!” Roman jumped in with grand gestures. “The more the merrier! And maybe it’ll give you two a chance to, you know, _make up?”_

“Besides,” Virgil said, ignoring Roman’s last comment, “he hates Christmas. He used to always—” He stopped himself. “Look, I’m just trying to look out for you all. I don’t want anything to happen.”

“I think you’re just being selfish because you don’t want to have to deal with the confrontation. Can’t you two just grow up? It was one little argument!”

Virgil immediately stood up from his chair to face Roman, fists clenched.

“Hey, hey, let’s calm down everyone,” Patton said with a nervous laugh.

“Thank you, Roman, that is a great example of what will _not_ help the situation,” Logan said, giving him a look.

Patton placed his hand gently on Virgil’s arm, whose angry expression softened a bit. Virgil sat back in his chair. “Why do you all want him over, anyways? You’re not exactly friends with him either.”

When no one spoke up, Patton looked down at his hands. “No one should be alone on Christmas.”

Virgil grumbled and rolled his eyes but ultimately didn’t argue.

“Come on Virge,” Patton urged, “I know you cut ties, but he’s not _all_ bad. He _is_ still one of us, you know.”

“He is _not_ one of us,” Virgil muttered under his breath.

After a few moments of silence between the four, Logan spoke up again. “I’m sorry, Virgil, but it appears you’ve been out-numbered. It’s three to one.”

“That’s not three to one, you’re just the mediator!”

Logan just shrugged, keeping his expression neutral. “So are we decided then?” he asked, “Do we all agree to invite Deceit over, to all _get along,_ ” he pointed a look at Virgil, “in the spirit of Christmas?”

Patton put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “If you’re really that against it, we won’t do it. But I think it’ll be a really good thing. For all of us.” He intentionally left out the “especially for you” part.

After a long moment of silence, Virgil gave in. “Fine.”

* * *

It was only two minutes past nine when the doorbell rang.

“Oh, that’s him!” Roman announced excitedly. “And barely a moment late!”

The four friends left their places on the couch to gather in the foyer. Logan reached out and opened the door. There on the doorstep stood a snowy Deceit.

“Welcome, welcome, come on in!” Patton said brightly. “Long-time-no-see, am I right?”

Deceit stepped into the house, taking in the warmth. “Hello, Patton, hello everyone, thank you for inviting me. I must admit it _has_ been a while.”

He was surprised to feel some of the bitterness already melting away when seeing everyone together again. Deceit would never admit it, but he _had_ missed these guys.

“Welcome, Deceit,” Logan closed the door behind him and offered a hand. “Good to see you again.”

Though his voice and expression were kept under control as per usual, Deceit could feel the warmth radiating from him. With a gloved hand he took the offer. “You as well, Logan, thank you.”

“Jack the Fibber!” Roman bounded forward and draped an arm over Deceit’s shoulder, not noticing him flinch at the touch. “My slippery scaly friend, how _are_ you? It’s been ages!”

“Indeed it has, dear Roman.” Though he was slightly uncomfortable with the sudden contact, he couldn’t help but smile. “Indeed it has.”

That left only one person, the one who was standing off to the side with his arms crossed, avoiding eye contact. Deceit gently took Roman’s arm off his shoulder and cautiously walked forward.

“Virgil,” he said, trying his best to hold his ground. “Good to see you again.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and blew his bangs from his face, not moving from his position. “You too, or something.”

At least he couldn’t say he didn’t try.

“Well, what do we start with first?” Roman clapped his hands together excitedly as if nothing had happened. “The hot chocolate? The cookie decorating? Christmas movies? A Christmas sing-along?”

“Calm down there, kiddo,” Patton laughed, waving his hands down at Roman. “Why don’t we have Deceit decide? He’s the guest.”

The four friends look expectantly at Deceit.

“Oh. I, uh… I’ve never really done Christmas,” he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not really my thing.” This really was a bad idea. What was he thinking? He’d never even had a real Christmas before. Still, some small part of him wanted to try.

Roman gasped, making everyone jump. “You’ve never _done_ Christmas?” He looked downright offended. “Christmas is the grandest, happiest, most wonderful time of the year! I’m sorry, but this just won’t do. We shall see to it that you have the best, most _epic_ Christmas of all time!”

“Yes, we shall!” Patton agreed happily.

“Mark my words, Deceit, by the end of the day tomorrow you _will_ love Christmas,” he swore, pointing his finger.

Patton’s smile faltered, “Now, Roman, there’s no need to get competitive—"

“Starting with the basics!” Roman proceeded. “You can take the spare bedroom down the hall and to the right.”

“Oh! There’s no need for that,” Deceit replied hastily, glancing at the door, “I was just going to come back in the morning.”

“Nonsense, you must have the full experience!”

Virgil looked like he wanted to protest, but remained silent.

“But I didn’t come prepared,” he reasoned, “I don’t have my clothes, I didn’t bring gifts—”

“Not to worry, we have plenty of extra clothes you can borrow!”

“Roman, that’s… thank you.” Deceit could feel his cheeks begin to heat up from all the attention.

“Roman’s right, we have plenty of resources,” Logan chimed in. “Go ahead and make yourself right at home, Deceit. It’s getting late, and we all should be going to bed soon,”—he gave a look to Roman, Patton, and Virgil— “We can do all those activities in the morning. Feel free to shower, grab a snack, whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

“But—”

“Goodnight, Deceit! See you in the morning!” Patton waved as he, Roman and Virgil headed to their respective rooms.

“Sweet dreams!” Roman called back.

Virgil just shot Deceit the best glare he could muster and followed suit.

“You know you can take your hat off, right?” he heard from behind. Deceit turned to see Logan, who hadn’t followed the others. “It won’t be snowing in here.” He was smiling slightly. Apparently he’d gained a sense of humor since they last met.

“Oh.” Deceit pulled his hat down from his head. He liked to wear it more out of comfort than for warmth or even style. It gave him a sense of security, something to hide behind. Taking it off made him feel vulnerable. Reluctantly he handed it to Logan, who brought it to the coat rack. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And Deceit?” Logan said before he could walk away. For a moment he was worried Logan was going to offer to take his cape too, but he just smiled again. “If you need anything, anything at all, just ask.”

Deceit wasn’t sure how to respond to such a generous offer, so he just nodded and headed for his room, too tired to put up a fight.

When Deceit was done showering off, he tentatively peeked into his bedroom to make sure no one was around. There he found a stack of clothes folded neatly across the bed and a steaming cup of hot chocolate left on his nightstand. He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, grateful for the clean clothes.

Deceit wondered who’d left the hot chocolate. The most likely candidate was Patton, but he was surprised by the gesture regardless of who it had been. He took ginger sips of the chocolate as peered out the window, watching the snow continue to come down.

Why were they being so _nice?_ For the first time in months, Deceit felt… okay. Maybe a little awkward, but if it weren’t for Patton, he very well may have still been out in that snow. He wondered if this was the way everyone felt on Christmas; warm and safe. Happy, even. A small part of him still wondered if this was all some cruel trick, some way for Virgil to get back at him, but he decided he’d let that go for now. He could deal with it in the morning.

The sweet, warm chocolate began making his limbs grow heavy, and he knew he should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow was bound to be exhausting. For now, he was just going to soak in the warmth and comfort and close his eyes.

* * *

Deceit woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon.

He sat up rubbing his eyes. Today was the day.

Deceit threw off his covers and stretched, listening to the sounds coming from outside his room. It was obvious all the others were already up and making breakfast. He heard the muffled voices of Patton and Virgil in the kitchen as the oven timer went off. Roman was singing to the Christmas music playing on the radio as plates and silverware clanked; probably Logan setting the table.

Deceit swallowed hard and braced himself. _You can do this_ , he told himself. _It’s just for one day. They don’t hate you. At least, most of them don’t…_

He opened his bedroom door and was flooded with the sounds and smells of Christmas morning. He blinked the light out of his eyes and saw just as he’d expected: Patton was at the kitchen counter, casually chatting with Virgil as he was finishing the icing on a tray of cinnamon rolls. Logan was indeed setting the table but was having a difficult time with Roman stretched out across it, using a spatula as a microphone and singing along with Mariah Carey.

Unfortunately he spotted Deceit standing in the doorway, now making him the target of the song.

_“‘Cause I just want you here tonight,”_ he sang, pointing to a flustered Deceit, _“Holding on to me so tight!”_

“Roman, you need to move so I can finish preparing the table,” Logan said. “Take your solo elsewhere.”

“But this is my stage, and you’re ruining my performance!”

“It’s not, and you need to move.”

“C’mon, Teach! At least let me finish!”

“No. If you don’t move, I will have no other choice but to take drastic measures.”

“Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

Logan stepped toward him with a butter knife, expressionless. “I will—"

“Oh, you’re up! Perfect timing!” Patton said when he noticed Deceit standing there, silently observing the scene that unfolded before him. “Breakfast is just about ready!”

Logan, Virgil, Roman, and Deceit took their places at the table while Patton brought over the food. “This is going to be so wonderful having everyone together like this!” Patton explained as he set down the last tray.

“Thanks for breakfast, Pat, you’re the best,” Virgil beamed. Patton just smiled and ruffled Virgil’s hair as he made his way to his place at the table.

“Merry Christ—"

“Hold up!” Roman interrupted with a hand in the air. “There’s something missing, and we mustn’t continue Christmas without it.” He turned to Deceit expectantly, looking him up and down. “Ahem. Deceit, your sweater?”

“My s…?”

For the first time since he’d woken up, Deceit noticed all four of them were decked out in their yearly Christmas sweaters—Patton in light blue with white paw prints, Roman in red with gold and white stars, Virgil in purple and black plaid, and Logan in deep blue that simply read, “This is a Christmas Sweater”.

The prince’s eyes suddenly grew wide. He held up a finger as in, _just one moment,_ and took off from his chair, tearing down the hallway and running into a room.

“Wait! _Roman!”_ Virgil cried frantically, scrambling after him.

Patton snapped his fingers, a smile growing on his face. “Oh, that’s right! It’s only tradition for us to _all_ be wearing our Christmas sweaters!”

Deceit looked to Logan for confirmation.

“I’m afraid Roman and Patton are correct,” he said coolly, clearly trying not to smile, “It _is_ tradition.”

Roman came running back out, producing a black and yellow knitted sweater with little snake patterns. “Ta-da! One snuggly serpentine sweater!”

Deceit nearly choked. “Wait, how…? Where’d _that_ come from?”

“Virgil held onto it!”

He took it gingerly, staring at it in disbelief. Virgil looked like a teapot ready to boil over.

“Sorry, Dee,” Logan said with false sympathy. “Looks like you’re not getting out of this one.” He said it as though he were saying _trust me, I’ve tried._

Deceit slipped on his sweater, trying to ignore all the eyes trained on him. There was a small applause from the rest of the table.

“Perfect! Now may we continue, Roman?”

The five of them ate well. It was a simple meal, really, but the most amazing one Deceit had had in a long time—eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls and coffee.

“Typically we do a Christmas breakfast instead of dinner,” Patton explained to Deceit through a mouthful of food. “So instead of spending all day preparing food, we can have the rest of the day to open presents and spend time with each other! We usually do our big dinner the night before. Sorry I didn’t catch you sooner.”

“Oh yeah, you totally missed out, Deceit! Logan is an amazing cook!” Roman said excitedly, thrusting his fork with scrambled egg into the air for effect.

“Thank you, Roman, but it was a group-effort, really,” Logan said modestly, but there was no mistaking the small amount of pride in his voice.

“Wasn’t it great, Virgil?” Roman elbowed his arm.

“What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was great,” Virgil muttered unenthusiastically. He’d hardly touched his breakfast, mostly just pushing the food around the plate with his fork, his head resting in his other hand.

Deceit hoped Virgil was okay. The bitterness and skepticism he’d felt from the previous night had mostly ebbed away from a good night’s sleep. He no longer wanted to be there if it truly made Virgil uncomfortable and unable to enjoy himself. Deceit just wanted to see his old friend happy. Even more painful, he wanted a second chance.

“So,” he began, “Do you all live here together, or…?”

“Oh heavens, no,” Patton laughed, putting his hand to his chest, “I could never do this much hosting for more than a couple days at a time. No, this is just the biggest house of us four, my parents’ old place, so we always spend time together here for the holidays.”

Deceit thought about that. Really it would’ve been just three of them, with this being Virgil’s first Christmas with them and all, but he decided not to say that. He couldn’t understand how quickly they’d accepted Virgil as a part of their family, the four of them talking and laughing like they’d spent their whole lives together.

“Well, you’ve been a great host thus far,” he offered politely. And it was true.

Virgil snorted. _Suck-up,_ Deceit could practically hear him say.

“Awe, thanks Dee! Let me tell you, it’s not easy, but I love getting to spend the holidays living with my best friends!”

Deceit wondered if someday he’d be considered a part of this group Patton considered his best friends. Probably not.

After breakfast was present-time, where the five gathered around Patton’s Christmas tree. Deceit was once again beginning to regret his stay; he hadn’t brought a single present for anyone. Yet somehow there were still five neatly wrapped gifts gleaming under the branches.

“Who wants to go first?” Patton asked.

“Oh, oh! I want to go first,” Roman said excitedly. “I had you, Pops!”

Roman handed Patton a beautiful box wrapped in red paper and gold ribbon. Patton opened the gift and gasped, his face lighting up. _“Kitten Mittens?”_ Patton held up a pair of blue fuzzy mittens, complete with cat ears on the knuckles.

“To match your sweater!”

Patton squealed in excitement and scooted over to throw a hug onto the prince. “I love it, Roman, thank you! Now it’s my turn. Virge, I had you!”

“Cool,” Virgil grinned and took the small blue package Patton handed him. “New eyeshadow? Thanks, Pat, you know me well.” Virgil leaned over to give Patton a hug.

“I guess that means it’s my turn then,” Virgil said, handing Logan a present. “I had you, Logan.”

“Excellent.” Logan carefully stripped away the purple wrapping to uncover a hardcover copy of _Alice in Wonderland._

Before Logan could get a word out, Virgil cut in. “Sorry I took your last copy,” he said with a nervous laugh.

“It’s quite alright, Virgil. Thank you.” Though he didn’t say much, his eyes were crinkled in a smile. “And I had you, Roman.”

“Oh goody,” Roman unwrapped the crisp blue wrapping to reveal a brand-new sketchbook.

“It appears you’re nearing the end of your current one, so I thought maybe you’d… you know…” Logan shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

“Thank you, Logan!” Roman leapt across to tackle Logan in a hug, who ungracefully accepted.

“And that leaves you, Deceit!” Patton said, pointing to the one present remaining under the tree.

“For me? But… I didn’t get anyone anything. Who… who got me a gift?”

“Oh, don’t worry, it was Santa Claus,” Patton said with a wink as he handed Deceit the present.

“You mean _Sanders_ Claus,” Roman pointed out, but Deceit wasn’t even listening anymore. A present? For him?

His tongue flicked the air. It definitely smelled like Patton, but when would he have had time to get him a gift when he’s been hosting this whole time?

Carefully, he unwrapped and opened the box. Inside was a long yellow scarf.

“Patton, this… you really didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Oh, it was a group effort!” he said proudly. “Logan said you needed something to keep you warm, Roman said you needed a pop of color, and Virgil had the idea of a scarf! He said it seemed like ‘your kind of thing.’”

Virgil blushed and pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible. “It was nothing,” he squeaked.

“I was just the one to go out and buy it,” Patton finished.

It was no doubt one of the best gifts he’d ever received. One of the only gifts he’d ever received. He was so excited, his natural dialect began slipping through.

“Everyone… thank you. This is… the _worst_ gift I’ve ever received.” The second it’d left his mouth, he knew what had happened.

“Wait, no! I didn’t mean to say that!” he said in a panic, his face burning bright red. He waited for the others to be disgusted, to kick him out for being rude. He’d lost his one chance and re-building a friendship with these people.

There was a half-second of shock and confusion. Then, to Deceit’s surprise, they burst into laughter.

“We did that good, huh?” Logan smirked.

“Oh boy, that was amazing,” Roman said, wiping a fake tear. “Comedy gold.”

Deceit took a deep breath, laughing a little himself but more relieved than anything. He really was no good with this Christmas stuff, nor the mushy social interaction, but the others didn’t make him feel bad about it. They didn’t seem to mind his silly mistakes, and that thought alone kept him going. “It’s the _best_ gift I’ve ever received,” he corrected. “Thank you.”

Next up on the Christmas activity list was games. The five of them were seated in a circle on the floor of the living room, criss-cross applesauce. Wrapping paper and boxes were strewn across the carpet.

Patton brought out a deck of cards. “Any suggestions?”

“How about ‘Lair’?” Logan suggested. “Seems about right for the occasion.”

At first no one said anything. The five of them sat in silence, considering their options. Between Logan’s deadpan voice and his impeccable poker face, he was too good. Then it clicked.

“Ha-ha, real funny,” but Deceit was laughing along with the others. Virgil just smiled and rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

“Seems like you’ve been spending too much time with Patton over here, Specs,” Roman laughed.

“Yes, it seems his terrible humor has began to rub off on me,” Logan teased, elbowing Patton next to him, who just smiled, looking very pleased with himself.

The group did eventually play Liar, which was fun for everyone except Patton, who flushed and laughed nervously every time he tried lying.

“Gosh darn it! How did you know?” He asked Roman after the fourth time of being called out. Everyone laughed, including Patton. Virgil leaned over to give him a sympathetic hug.

Between Deceit’s deceptive skills and Logan’s strategy and perfect poker face, the two were neck and neck the entire time. Eventually the game had to be considered a tie; neither one would back down and everyone was getting tired of playing.

“Would you just look at that snow!” Patton said excitedly, looking out the front window. It was about three in the afternoon and it hadn’t stopped snowing since the previous evening. A thick blanket of snow covered the entire town. “It’s a white Christmas!”

Roman strolled over to join. “Yes, the perfect conditions to make a beautiful sculpture! Or to have the most _epic_ snowball fight!”

Logan, Virgil, and Deceit joined the other two at the window.

“It is quite beautiful, isn’t it?” said Logan.

“It’s just snow,” Virgil and Deceit said in unison. They glanced at each other, but quickly looked away, annoyed. The other three were trying not to laugh.

“I know cold isn’t your favorite, Deceit, but would you like to join us outside?” Logan asked. “We don’t often get a white Christmas, and when we do, we always make a point to go out and enjoy it.”

“We can make sure you’re extra bundled up!” Patton added. “We can lend you a proper coat instead of just using your cape.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Virgil wouldn’t mind sharing one of his old ones,” Roman said teasingly.

“No pressure, though,” Logan put his palms up. “We wouldn’t want to put your health in danger.”

“No, I… I think I can do it,” he said. As much as Deceit hated the cold, he wanted to do this. Everyone here had been so kind and welcoming. Even Virgil, in his own way— The fact that he’d even let him over at all was enough. He didn’t want to push it all away now. “Let’s do it.”

Deceit was outfitted in a thick black coat, his new yellow scarf, and his regular old gloves and hat. He had to admit it wasn’t a bad look, and it was much warmer than just his cape. The five of them finally exited the warmth and safety of Patton’s house, and Deceit was surprised to feel as though being outside in the winter _wasn’t_ going to suck the life force out of him. Aside from the exposed skin and scales on his face, he actually felt quite warm. Logan had been right. Without having to focus on the blinding cold, snow really was beautiful.

The snow was still falling, but only in tiny specks now. The group was spread out around the lawn, bundled up in various winter attire. Logan and Patton were out on the empty snowy street, admiring all the shops and houses covered in fresh snow and Christmas lights. Roman was off to the side of the yard, making what looked like the start of a snowman. Virgil remained on the door-step in silence, taking everything in.

The sight of it all amazed Deceit. Everyone seemed so… at peace. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so content; not bitter and angry at the world. Not just surviving, but living.

He began wandering across the yard, simply enjoying the scene laid out before him. Just as he was about to reach the area where Roman was working, Deceit felt a cold chunk of snow shatter against the back of his collar. He turned around to see a mortified Virgil—his mouth hanging open and eyes wide in terror.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” he sputtered out, “that was meant for Princey!”

The irritation Deceit had initially felt quickly melted away into something he hadn’t felt in a long time: playfulness.

“A feeble attempt,” he said. “Really, Virgil, I thought you were better than that. Apology unaccepted. However, I do accept your declaration of war.”

“My de—?” Virgil’s confusion was cut off by a snowball to the shoulder. Deceit had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh when seeing Virgil’s dumbfounded expression. Shock quickly turned into competitiveness, and Deceit could see he was trying not to smile. There was a dangerous glint in his eye, like lighting a fire; a look Virgil only ever got when they used to rough house together. It felt like so long since Deceit had seen that look, and he was glad to have it back, even if it was just for this one moment. “So that’s how you wanna play.”

Virgil knelt down to load more ammunition when Deceit cupped his hands to his mouth and called, “Hey, Roman, sounds like that snowball was for you. Courtesy of Virgil.”

“Dee!”

Roman turned around from his snowman, looking at Virgil with his hand on his chest. “ _Excuse_ me?” He said in mock-offense, “Trying to attack me, the prince, while his guard is down? My own best friend? How _dare_ you!”

“Oh, get over yourself, Princey,” he laughed, tossing a new snowball up in his hand.

“What do you say we take down this fowl beast together?” Roman asked Deceit.

“With pleasure.” Deceit and Roman began to advance.

“Hey, w-wait! No fair!” Virgil said, backing up, “You guys can’t team up on me like that!”

“Are you kiddos playing nice?” Patton jokingly called over from where he and Logan were standing.

He was answered with a snowball to the back. “No,” Roman said through a grin. Virgil snickered.

Logan turned. “Hey now, don’t get us involved in your silly little qua—”

It was Patton’s turn to cut him off with a snowball, accidentally hitting him in the side of the head. Everyone froze, afraid they’d gone too far. Patton’s hands shot up to cover his mouth.

“Alright,” he said, deadly calm. He took in a deep breath, cracking his neck and knuckles. “You asked for it.”

Everyone ran.

Logan quickly began scooping up bunches of snow in his fists, grinning from ear to ear, running after a screaming Patton. While Roman was distracted with steering clear of Logan, Virgil finally got his snowball to its original target. “Hey!”

Everyone forgot who was teaming up with who, and soon it was every man for themselves. Snowballs were flying in every which way, targeting whoever was closest.

Deceit had never really been in a full-fledged snowball fight before, and he was a little worried he was going to hurt someone, but no one seemed to really mind getting hit. The snowball to Virgil was a bold move, but it only seemed to break the ice between them. The entire time he’d been over, Virgil had barely even acknowledged his presence. Now they were indulging in the same kind of chaotic fun they always had. Deceit decided it couldn’t hurt to join in.

Who was the easiest target? Probably Patton, but he was already occupied with Logan. Patton had been backed to a wall and was giggling nervously as Logan approached.

“Wait, Lo, we can talk about this!” he squeaked, bracing himself for the kill.

“Hey!” Virgil called to distract Logan, “That’s my friend!”

“He’s my friend too!” Roman announced proudly.

“Oh,” Logan said, turning around and letting Patton slip from his trap. “I’m so glad you two have offered to take his place as sacrifice. How kind.”

“Oh, wait, never mind!” Roman called back when he realized what he’d just gotten himself into. He and Virgil ran for it, but Logan was like a machine. He hit both his targets with pinpoint accuracy, catching Virgil off-guard and knocking him to the ground with a muffled “Oof!”

Meanwhile Deceit had completely forgotten about Patton, who had snuck off while everyone was distracted by the Logan/Virgil/Roman show, and was shocked to feel a ball of snow hit his shoulder.

Deceit turned around to see Patton stick out his tongue playfully. He stuck his forked tongue out in return, causing Patton to bust up.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Patton,” Deceit said melodramatically, gathering more snow in his hands.

Patton was too busy clutching his stomach laughing to respond.

Though Virgil had fallen prey to Logan, Roman had escaped and was positioned behind Patton, holding his finger to his lips.

Roman silently launched his snowball. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the best shot. The snowball hit Patton directly behind the knees with full force and sent him straight to the ground.

It was Deceit’s turn to crack. There was something so shocking and sudden about it, Deceit doubled over, laughing so hard he was forced to the ground right along with Patton.

“Sorry, Pat!” Roman screeched and rushed over. The three of them were on the ground, barely catching their breaths. It almost hurt to be laughing so hard. Deceit wiped his eyes and slowly stood, helping Patton back up.

Patton’s glasses were slightly askew across his flushed cheeks, but he was grinning like he was having the time of his life. He helped Roman back up, who profusely apologized through his laughs and wrapped Patton in a hug. Deceit strolled over to watch the showdown between Virgil and Logan, though there was really no fight for Virgil. He was already pinned into the snow.

“Wa— _Logan, no!”_ he heard Virgil scream with laughter as Logan began stuffing snow into Virgil’s coat. There was a hint of satisfaction in Logan’s eyes that both amazed and terrified Deceit.

“Hey, don’t put this on me, you’re the one who started this whole thing!”

“Did not!”

Deceit couldn’t help but laugh quietly into his glove at the sight of big, tough Virgil being taken down by the ever-stoic Logan, like some sort of petty sibling fight.

“Deceit’s the one who made it into a war,” Virgil said, shooting Deceit a look. Normally he would’ve been hurt by a look from Virgil, but Deceit saw that it was no longer filled with anger and resentment. The look he gave was one of grudging gratitude, like that little bit of a release was something he had desperately needed.

Virgil finally got his chance to fight back and pushed Logan off of him, breathing heavily through leftover giggles. He threw some powder back at Logan for good measure.

“I’ll do it again, you know,” Logan warned, brushing the snow off his pants.

“You’re crazy, you know that, Lo?” Virgil laughed.

Logan just smiled and straightened his glasses.

Everyone headed back inside to warm up and settle down for the afternoon. Coats, scarves, and other accessories were hung back up on the coat rack to dry. Patton put on a record for top Christmas hits and sat down with a cup of cocoa. “I hope you’re enjoying your stay, Deceit, it’s been wonderful having you here.”

Deceit felt a pleasant warmth rise up within him. “I quite am, Patton, thank you.”

He didn’t detect any sort of lie in Patton’s statement, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he really meant that. They enjoyed having him around?

“Are you loving Christmas yet?” Roman asked excitedly.

“Uh…” he wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Before he could give a proper answer, Brenda Lee’s _Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree_ began to play, making Patton spring to his feet.

“Ooh, this is one of my favorites!” He squealed. Then, turning serious, he whipped around to face Logan.

“Logan, will you have this dance?”

Patton bowed dramatically, holding out his hand to Logan who scoffed and rolled his eyes. He reluctantly took Patton’s hand, trying to hide his smile.

Patton led the two in a bouncy, improvised-swing type of dance, pulling poor Logan right along. Between Patton’s silly antics and a little bit of embarrassment, Logan’s composure was quickly breached. He was laughing almost uncontrollably, weakening as he was pulled along by a singing Patton, his face redder than ever. “Patton!” Logan laughed. “Slow down!”

The scene unfolding before them was too good, Virgil couldn’t help but feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Hey now, these two can’t be having _all_ the fun.”

Virgil stood up from the wall where he, Roman, and Deceit were leaning against to view the show.

“C’mon, Princey,” he grabbed Roman’s arm, “You’re dancing with me.” Virgil dragged Roman out to where Logan and Patton were.

“Gladly, my dearest knight!” Roman beamed and let Virgil lead the way, dancing next to the other two in that free-swing kind of way.

Deceit watched in fascination and awe at the four friends, dancing and laughing themselves silly, not having a care in the world. He too couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It really was an honor to get to witness such a wholesome moment in time.

He was snapped out of his gaze when Roman began approaching, his hand extended. “Your turn!”

“Oh, uh,” Deceit tried to think of a way out. He really was enjoying himself just by getting to watch the others. “That’s okay, I—" But Roman didn’t seem to be giving him an option, as Deceit was yanked to the dance floor. “Come on, Snake, let’s rattle!”

“Only if you _never_ say that again,” he tried his best to sound irritated, but he doubted it was very effective when it was obvious that he was trying not to smile.

Roman laughed. “Whatever you say, Jekyll and Lied.”

Roman and Deceit danced with surprising ease, Virgil returning to his spot to watch the others.

“What a fine dance partner you are!” Roman exclaimed as the song came to an end. Everyone began slowing down, breathing hard but smiling just the same.

“Thank you, dear Roman,” Deceit said with a theatrical bow, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Wonderful performances, everyone!” Roman announced cheerfully as the next song began. “Now, switch partners! I call the Nerd over there!”

“Hey!” Logan pouted as Roman strolled over to Logan cheekily.

Patton glanced at the remaining dance partners and quickly added, “And I’ll grab us all some drinks! Be right back!” Leaving Virgil and Deceit the only two left.

Suddenly dancing didn’t seem so fun.

Deceit steeled his nerves and cautiously approached Virgil, who eyed him warily. “Virgil, would you…?”

“Yeah, fine, let’s just get this over with,” he said with an eye roll, taking Deceit’s hand.

_The Christmas Song_ was the next to play, bringing everyone down to a kind of casual slow dance, for which everyone was grateful. After about a minute of dancing and avoiding eye contact, Virgil was the first one to speak up.

“I guess… it _is_ nice to see you again,” he admitted.

Deceit pretended not to notice the blush growing on Virgil’s face and said, “What’s that? You’re mumbling, Virgil.”

“You know what I said,” he spat, his face only continuing to redden. Deceit chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” Deceit said, softening his voice to a more serious tone. His dance partner finally met his eyes. “For everything.”

It took Virgil a moment to process those words, letting silence fall between them as they listened to the others apparently having their own fun.

“Quit stepping on my feet, Roman, I thought you were supposed to be a good dancer!”

“Hey, I am a good dancer!”

Virgil looked down at the floor and quietly said, “Me too.”

It was early evening when the group of friends decided to settle down with a movie: the original Grinch. Patton made popcorn for everyone while Roman broke out the blankets. Virgil went around the house, closing all the blinds and shutting off lights as Logan set up the movie. Deceit asked if there was anything he could do to help, but everyone just told him they had it taken care of and to make himself comfortable on the couch. He grabbed a blanket and did what he was told.

Once all preparations were made and the beginning credits started to show, everyone took their seats. Patton jumped to the space on Deceit’s left, yelling, “I call sitting next to Dee!” Virgil grinned and climbed over to the opposite side. Logan and Roman sat on the floor, Logan’s shoulder’s straddled between Virgil’s knees and Roman stretched out on his side, throwing his legs over Logan’s lap. Patton and Virgil cuddled up on either side of Deceit, causing a warmth to spread through his limbs and fluttering feeling in his stomach. The sudden and intimate contact was a bit surprising, but certainly not unwelcome.

“I’ve never done something like this before,” he said to no one in particular, an excited edge creeping into his voice. “But this is actually _really_ unpleasant. In fact, this is the _worst_ time I’ve had in a while!”

“Aww, that’s great to hear!” Patton praised and nuzzled into Deceit, wrapping himself and his blanket around his arm.

Roman chuckled and said, “I _told_ you I’d make you like Christmas,” but yelped when Logan flicked the bottom of his foot.

“I still hate you, you know,” Virgil said in his usual irritated voice, but when Deceit looked over he was smiling.

Patton yawned. “Gee, for a cold-blooded creature, you sure are warm…”

The group was mostly silent during the rest of the movie, having exhausted all their energy earlier in the day. Deceit silently observed Virgil, who was absentmindedly playing with Logan’s hair as he watched the movie. When Virgil realized what he was doing had accidentally put his friend to sleep, he retracted his hand and curled up under his blanket. Everyone but Virgil and Deceit were out cold at this point, lulled by the sound of the movie playing in the background and the comfort of everyone cuddled up together. Roman was curled up to a pillow on the floor next to Logan, whose head had fallen back into Virgil’s lap. Patton was completely wrapped up in his blanket, snuggled up against Deceit’s side. And he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

He could’ve stayed there forever, perfectly content.

Virgil yawned, resting his head lightly against Deceit’s arm. Then, without taking his eyes off the screen, whispered, “I missed you”. It was so quiet, barely audible, Deceit wasn’t sure if it was meant to be heard, or even said at all. For all he knew he could’ve been talking to one of the characters on-screen. Deceit just smiled and leaned his cheek to the top of Virgil’s head, sighing contentedly and trying not to let the warm sleepy air get to him too.

* * *

Deceit was surprised by how sad he felt to be leaving. The last twenty-four hours seemed to have gone by so fast. The five of them gathered together in the foyer again, this time to see Deceit off.

“I guess this is it, then,” he said.

“Thank you so much for coming, Deceit, it was a pleasure having you,” Patton said, wrapping him in a hug. “Feel free to visit, okay?”

Deceit returned the hug. “The pleasure was mine. Oh! I almost forgot…” He began taking off his Christmas sweater.

“Oh no, no,” Roman stopped him. “That’s yours, my friend.”

“But—”

“For next time,” Logan smiled.

“And this?” he asked, holding up Virgil’s spare coat he had borrowed.

“You can keep it,” Virgil shrugged. “Seemed to do you a lot more good than it did me.”

“Thank you.” Deceit pulled on the coat and wrapped his new scarf securely around his neck. He put his gloves and hat back on.

Deceit looked around at everyone, not sure what to say.

“Thank you again,” he said finally. “Really. This was by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Roman did a small fist pump.

“I… I hope to see you all again,” he said, opening the door. “In the near future.”

“We love you too, you stupid snake,” Virgil said teasingly.

There was one more round of hugs before Deceit stepped out onto the snowy porch.

When it was Virgil’s turn, there was a small moment of hesitation before he finally threw his arms tightly around Deceit, paralyzing him for a moment. Deceit relaxed into it and gratefully returned the hug. They stood there embraced for maybe a tad longer than was comfortable, but no one really minded. He heard a soft “aw” from Patton.

Just as he was about to step off into the street, he heard, “Hey.”

He turned. “Don’t be a stranger,” Logan said.

“Yeah! You might be the bad guy, but you’re _our_ bad guy now!” Roman said.

“Sucks to be you,” Virgil agreed with a smirk, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

Deceit just laughed and waved, turning back around.

The snow began to fall once again, but this time was different. For the first time, Deceit didn’t mind the cold. He smiled and hummed to himself as he made his way back to his apartment.

He had somewhat of a family now. A small, chaotic one, but a family nonetheless. People who had accepted him back into their lives, even when he hadn’t been the greatest to them in the past. They had given him a second chance, a fresh start— and _that_ was more than Deceit could’ve ever asked for.

Roman had been right. Christmas really could be a wonderful time of year when you have the ones you care about there to keep you warm. Maybe the holiday season wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I've created some artwork for this story that will be posted to my Tumblr (@ultrafangirlishness) more towards the holidays, if you wanna check them out! I'm probably going to be coming back to this story every holiday season and noticing all the little mistakes, especially considering this is my first fic. But for now I really like it. :)
> 
> Also: Now that (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED SVS REDUX) Deceit has revealed his name as Janus, do you think I should re-write the story to replace Deceit's name with Janus, or leave it as is? I figured that because it was written at a time before his acceptance I should keep it as is, but let me know what you think.


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